SFY 2009 Early Childhood Mental Health Program Report
Executive Summary
July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009
What is Early Childhood Mental Health?
Early childhood mental health is the social, emotional and behavioral well-being of children birth to six years and their families, including the capacity to:
? Experience, regulate and express emotion
? Form close, secure relationships
? Explore the environment and learn
Early childhood mental health is influenced by:
? Biological and physiological characteristics of the young child
? Quality of the adult relationships in the child's life
? Caregiving environments the child is in
? Community context in which the child and family lives
The system of care provides a comprehensive cross-system, cross-agency infrastructure that sustains services and supports that:
? Promote positive mental health
? Prevent mental health problems in children and families
? Intervene for children and families impacted by mental health disorders
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
The primary goal of Ohio’s Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Program (ECMHC) is to increase knowledge, awareness, resources and skills necessary for communities to meet the behavioral health needs of young children and their families, especially those at risk for abuse, neglect and poor social and emotional health by building protective factors in young children and increasing competencies and skills of parents and early childhood providers. ECMHC targets the healthy social and emotional development of all young children in Ohio to ensure they thrive and are ready for school.
SFY 2009 Outcomes
? Child-specific consultations were provided for 1659 children at risk of removal from an early childhood setting.
? 87.8% were maintained in their setting.
? For those children that were not able to be maintained in a setting
– 5.9% were transferred during services,
– 5.1% were removed – not participating in childcare,
– Only 1.1% were expelled due to behavior.
? Parents scored 90.0% of the children in the concern range on the pre test and 53.3% scored in the concern range on the post test.
? Teachers scored 73.8% of the children scored in the concern range on the pre test and 57.1% scored in the concern range on the post test.
Satisfaction with ECMH Consultation Services
? 92.7% overall rate of parent satisfaction with the consultation services
? 96.6% overall rate of early childhood providers satisfaction with the consultation services
– Increase from FY 2009 rate of 89.25%.
Education and Training Satisfaction Rates
The parents indicated an overall satisfaction rate of 98.4% for the instructor and 95.5% for the learning objectives. The parents reported an understanding of the topic prior to training as 59.9% and an understanding of the topic after training as 94.4%.
The staff completing the survey indicated an overall satisfaction rate of 98.3% for the instructor and 95.8% for the learning objectives. The staff reported an understanding of the topic prior to training as 71.8% and an understanding of the topic after training as 96.9%.
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services
? 15,196 children in group settings received consultation services
? 4241 families of young children received consultation services
? 3252 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers received individual services
? 2931 early childhood providers received specialized early childhood consultation and training supports
? 805 early childhood programs sites and child-serving agencies received consultation on individual children and/or their social and emotional learning environments for young children
ECMH Consultation Programs/ Sites
? 301 Childcare Centers
? 167 Head Start and Early Head Start Sites
? 100 ELI
? 21 Help Me Grow Program Sites
? 132 Public and Private Preschools
? 18 Family Childcare Homes
? 15 Public Children’s Services Agencies
? 51 Other
Program Strengths
? ECMH specialists are knowledgeable and skilled.
? Strength-based approaches are used.
? Evidence-based programs are employed.
? Strong community relationships exist.
? ECMH programming and services are characterized by flexibility.
ECMH Consultant Profile
? 80% have Master’s Degree or higher
? 77% are licensed professionals
? 7 years Average Mental Health experience
? 87% have early childhood experience
? 167 ECMH Consultants for FY 2009
ECMH Core Competencies
Ohio’s Early Childhood Mental Health Core Competencies was developed by a workgroup of ECMH professionals from around the state with a broad range of expertise and experience. The document of core competencies is for ECMH professionals who provide consultation and/or treatment. The core competencies are written to promote the professional development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for working with diverse populations. The document serves as an initial effort to articulate Ohio’s vision of the competent Early Childhood Mental Health Practitioner.
Early Childhood Mental Health Treatment
Funds were earmarked in the state budget for FY 08-09 for ECMH Treatment. An RFP process resulted in 11 boards being recommended to receive funds for an 18 month project. Additional funds were allocated and 2 additional boards were funded for FY 09.
The grant’s purpose was the implementation of evidence-based practice in Ohio through increasing availability and penetration of early childhood mental health treatment. This grant sought to support and enhance a significant public investment in the health and education of Ohio’s youngest children and their families.
? Participants reported 1185 children and their families received ECMH treatment services from the beginning of grant activities through June 30, 2009. This significantly surpasses the estimate of serving up to 650 children.
? The children receiving treatment ranged in age from an average of one year, 11 months up to six years, 2 months with the average being 4.6 years of age.
? The most cited reasons for children seen for treatment were aggression, trauma, attachment issues and disruptive behaviors.
Of the clients that had a closure status by the end of the grant, 90.6% were maintained in the Center at closure, 3.4% were transferred during services, 4.1% were removed – not participating in childcare, and only 1.9% were expelled due to behavior.
The Incredible Years
The Incredible Years was piloted in 13 board areas as part of the ABC Initiative in FY 2007. For FY 2008, through an RFP process, this was increased to 23 boards. An additional 5 boards participated in FY 2009, for a total of 28 boards. For FY 2009, forty-one (41) boards reported that they were currently using the Incredible Years as part of their ECMH services. 41 Boards reported using IY programs as part of ECMH services
Basic Parent Groups
The responses to the satisfaction survey indicate an overall satisfaction rate of 95.43%. The lowest satisfaction rate was related to the degree to which the Incredible Years program helped with other personal or family problems not directly related to the child at 90.12% and the highest satisfaction rate was related to the parent indicating that they would recommend the program with 99.22%.
DINA (Small Group) Treatment Program
Parents of children participating in the DINA Small Group therapy were asked to complete a DECA assessment prior to the start and at the conclusion of small group sessions. On the Total Protective Factor Scale, parents reported that 47.2% of the youth had clinically significant improvement between the pre test and the post test. On the Behavioral Concerns Scale, parents reported that 16.2% of the youth had clinically significant improvement between the pre test and the post test scores.
Classroom DINA Program
The responses to the teacher satisfaction survey indicate an overall satisfaction rate of 96.89% for the Classroom Dina Program.
Teacher Classroom Management Program
The responses to the teacher satisfaction survey indicate an overall satisfaction rate of 98.14%.
Maternal Depression
The Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) Maternal Depression Program (MDP) was originally developed in 2004. The project originally began as a collaborative pilot with mental health and Help Me Grow in 7 pilot counties in Ohio. As part of ABC, the pilot was expanded through an RFP process to 15 MH boards and 17 counties in Ohio.
Help Me Grow providers administer the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to mothers ages 18 years or older with infants between 4-20 weeks of age as part of their standard services. Mothers who score in the clinical range (≥ 12) on the EPDS and/or endorse item 10 (suicidal ideation) on the EPDS are referred to a partnering county mental health provider for further evaluation and treatment.
A total of 1218 screens that fit the established MDP protocol were submitted for FY 2009. 13.5% of mothers screen positive for depression on the EPDS and about two thirds (65.3%) of the mothers screening positive accepted a facilitated mental health referral and nearly half of those accepting a referral (47.6%) actually kept their appointment with the 90-day surveillance period. The median time between the referral and completed appointment was 14 days.
For full report with appendix and map go to:
o.gov/what-we-do/provide/children-youth-and-families/early- c hildhood/mental-health-consultation-and-treatment.shtml
For more information contact:
Marla Himmeger
Mental Health Administrator
Ohio Department of Mental Health
30 East Broad Street, 8th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3430
(614) 466-1984
(614) 466-1571 fax